Trampolines and alcohol just don't mix, warns expert

Wellington, Jan ary 12: Don't drink and trampoline, and think twice about jumping on with your grandchildren, an expert has warned.

About one person aged 70 or over has been injured each month for the past four years while trampolining, figures from the Accident Compensation Corporation show.

All up there have been 39,000 claims for trampoline injuries over the four years, at a cost of 13.5 million dollars, Stuff.co.nz reported.

62 of those involved people aged 70 or over and 64 involved those aged 65-69. The biggest number of injuries - 32,992 - were sustained by children aged 14 or under. Just over half of all injuries involved males.

According to former trampoline and aerobics coach Stephanie McMillan, 61, of Christchurch, while the young suffered most injuries those that happened to the elderly were likely to be more serious and likely to take longer to recover from.

All but a few of the injuries would have involved recreational backyard trampolines, not those used by gymnasts, McMillan said.

It was important to stick to the middle of the trampoline, to keep feet apart, to do a few warm-up movements first and not have more than one person jumping at a time. Ideally, people should use a trampoline with a net. (ANI)